The present invention relates to solar energy systems and more particularly to an all season window construction whereby loss of heat from an interior closed environment to the outside is minimized during cold weather and transmission of heat from the outside to the interior closed environment is minimized during seasons when the outside temperature is relatively high.
There has for some time heretofore been a recognition of the need to control the transfer of solar energy from the outside environment to a closed environment during the warm weather months and to prevent the transfer of heat from the closed environment to the outside during the cold weather months while concomitantly retaining a clear unobstructed view through the window arrangement employed to effectuate such control. Accordingly, a variety of window constructions have been proposed and have been known prior to the present invention. Such earlier constructions, however, have failed to provide the optimum control sought, have required unduly complex structural arrangements or have interfered with the clear visibility expected of window constructions. U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,709 issued Dec. 29, 1959 to L. J. Corcoran, for example, discloses a window unit which incorporates therein a heat radiating section and a dead air space. The unit is given trunnions so that it can be mounted pivotably in a window frame for reversal as desired according to the season. Alternatively, since the relative location of the heat radiating and dead air sections is fixed, the unit can be mounted in the window frame and manually removed therefrom for reversal to meet the seasonal requirements. Such a unit poses the problem of selecting a time for reversal when indoor and outside temperature and humidity are substantially the same in order to avoid heat or air conditioning loss from the closed environment and the entry of rain during inclement weather. Further, in the case of the pivotal mounting of the unit in the window frame problems are apt to arise in connection with the sealing of the unit in the window frame. With the advent of energy shortages throughout the world the demand for more effective control of heat transfer through window constructions, especially via the utilization of solar energy, has become extremely important and in fact crucial.